'I think she's faking.' Damon spat as we waited outside the nurse's office.

Jeremy was inside talking to the nurse.

'Why would she fake fainting?' Alaric sighed.

'Because she knows we're on to her!' Damon stood and paced around in front of us. 'I don't think she forgot.'

'Forgot?'

'Damon was the one who attacked Bella.' Elena sighed.

Alaric threw him an angry look. 'Let's hope she did; otherwise, she won't help us.'

'Why didn't you mention this before?' Damon threw his head in my direction.

'With everything that I've been going through, it slipped my mind. Besides, every interaction I've had with her runs the risk of me draining her dry. Besides, I never saw the pictures, not the ones of John and Isobel. Only the ones of Mr. Tanner.'

'The previous history teacher?!' Alaric looked at us.

'Yes.'

Elena turned to me. 'Wait, Mr. Tanner knew my uncle?'

'And Isobel, it wouldn't surprise me if he knew about you.'

Elena glared at Damon; he rolled his eyes.

'That still doesn't get you off the hook.' Damon pointed out.

'She just mentioned the friendship in passing, but I figured when I got back to normal, I could ask her grandmother.'

'Do you think she discovered I was adopted before I did?'

Damon looked at her. 'I could compel-'

'She has vervain in her necklace. When I told you, Stefan gave her and her grandmother vervain.'

'My brother, always the hero.'

'I could snatch it off her.' Elena offered, a little too eagerly.

'And then what?'

'What do you mean what?' Elena questioned, 'Damon can-'

'If she truly does remember, then how can you-'

'I'm stronger than you-'

'But if what she can resist compulsion?'

'What are you saying?'

'What if she's found some way to resist compulsion?'

'Humans can't-'

'And humans don't smell as good as her! What human have you fed off tasted as good as her!'

Damon glanced at the door. 'None.'

'What if there's a reason why?'

'Like what?'

I began to respond when Caroline, Matt, and a stunning blonde-haired girl burst in; I'd seen her around Bella a few times.

'Caroline, what-'

'After they called Mrs. Higginbotham, she called me to stay with her until she arrived.'

'What happened to Bella?' asked the blonde girl as she went to the door.

'She's fine.' insisted Alaric as he tried to pull her away. 'We can wait with her-'

'Where's Jeremy?' the girl asked, ignoring him.

'He's inside with Bella; why?'

'He was there with Bella when she fainted, right?'

Elena shot her an annoyed look. 'What do you want?'

'Bella and I hang out occasionally.'

'We can take it from here.' Araric stated firmly.

'I'm actually needed inside.' She pulled away from Alaric. 'Excuse me.'

'Go back to class, Rosalie.'

'I'm not going anywhere.'

'Why are you here?'

'Jeremy said I should hurry down because I might get the scoop on a hot story.'

'Don't you write a beauty column?!' Elena scoffed.

'What could be more beautiful than mental equilibrium?' Rosalie shot back.

'How is she?' Caroline asked.

'She fainted.' Elena glared at Rosalie.

'Did she hit her head?'

'Stefan caught her before she hit the floor.'

Matt shook his head, 'First, she's nearly crushed, now this.'

'What do you mean?' Alaric asked.

'Last night, she was nearly crushed by a pickup truck. Some guy forgot to put his truck in park and nearly had Bella pinned against her truck.'

The four of us exchange a glance. 'She said she fell.'

'Of course, she fell,' Rosalie commented as she jotted something in a tiny notebook, 'That's her trademark. She said she thought she saw someone she knew.'

'When did she say this?'

'She told me after class.'

'And I saw her running after someone.' Matt let out.

'Who?'

'I'm sorry, but I need to see Bella.'

'And I want to talk to Jeremy.'

Caroline, followed by Rosalie, knocked on the door.

'You can't-' Alaric began before the door opened.

'Yes?'

'We're here to see Bella Swan.' Caroline announced.

'I'm Rosalie Hale, and this is Caroline Forbes-'

'Oh, Isabella's grandmother-'

'Bella.' I heard Bella mutter in a quiet voice.

'Said you were coming, Miss Forbes, and Jeremy Gilbert said you could probably piece together what's going with Isabella.'

'Bella.'

'Come in.'

Alaric moves towards the door, but the nurse blocks his way. 'Excuse me; I need to check on her.'

'No!' Bella shouted. 'I only want Caroline, Rose Jeremy, and my grandmother!'

'I need to talk to you, Isobel!'

'Her name is Isabella.' Rosalie corrected.

The door was shut in his face; Matt looked between the four of us.

'What's going on?'

'Who was Bella running after?'

'Some woman.'

'How did she look?'

Matt shrugged. 'I don't know; she had dark hair.'

'Anything else?' Damon insisted.

'She seemed irritated.'

'The woman?'

'No, Bella. She was upset with her grandmother, which was of character for her.'

'What do you mean?'

'Bella was angry with her grandmother for some reason.'

'Did you hear anything?'

Matt squirmed. 'I don't feel comfortable talking about Bella behind her back.'

I remembered her phone call with Elena and how she chewed her out over telling me about her collapsing.

'It could help us help Bella.'

'I only heard Bella say something about Elena's uncle.'

'What about my uncle?'

'Something happened between your uncle and hers; I heard Bella say her name.'

'Do you know anything else?' asked Alaric.

'John and Jeremy came to see Bella last night; Bella's grandmother doesn't like John.'

'Who does?' commented Damon.

'Bella?' called the voice of Bella's grandmother, her cane clicking speedily. She walked inside briskly, walking to the door, and turned to us. 'What happened?'

'She fainted in the cafeteria.' I offered.

'What?! Why?'

'I don't know.'

'Did she say anything?'

'She mentioned that her chest felt tight.'

Mrs. Higginbotham knocked on the door, calling for Bella.

Bella's grandmother took her home, and we couldn't talk to her.

I decided to focus on my meeting with Isobel. Hopefully, I could get some answers from her.

Stefan went with me to meet her; Damon and Alaric were waiting outside across the street.

'Can you hear me?' I whispered. 'Thanks for coming, I'm nervous. I'm happy that you're here. I love you.'

I almost feel his "I love you." when Isobel arrives and sits down.

She had long, dark brown hair, garden-green eyes, fair skin, and a heart-shaped face.

This was her.

This was my birth mother.

This was Isobel.

'Hello, Elena. You look just like her; that's eerie.'

The revelation shocked me. 'You've met Katherine?'

'She found me after I turned. Genetic curiosity, I suppose. She would be fascinated by you.'

I looked at Isobel's necklace. 'Is that how you can walk in the day?'

'Katherine helped me obtain it.'

'Who's my father?'

The question surprised me; I didn't expect to ask so soon.

Isobel rolled her eyes at the question as if she'd been asked this question a million times.

'Not necessary. He was a teenage waste of space.'

'A name would be nice.' I scoffed.

'It would, wouldn't it? You ask a lot of questions.'

'Why did you compel that man to kill himself? Right after, he told me to stop looking for him.'

'Dramatic impact. I wish it would have been more effective.'

'Human life means that little to you?'

'Means nothing to me. It's just part of being what I am.'

'No, it's not. I know other vampires; that's not true.'

'Like your new boyfriend over there by the pool table?' she tousled her hair in Stefan's direction. 'Stefan Salvatore. Why Stefan? Why didn't you go for Damon? Or are you enjoying them both like Katherine did?'

How dare she ask me that?

I wonder what Stefan was thinking.

'Why did you want to meet me? I can't wait to catch up.'

'Because I'm curious about you.'

The comment made my heart skip a beat; if she was so curious about me, why did she tell me to stop looking for her?

'But the real reason is: I want what your uncle wants. Johnathan Gilbert's invention.'

And that comment made my soul sink.

I folded my arms and wondered if I could pull out my father's identity through questions.

'How do you know my uncle?'

'I spent a lot of time here when I was younger.' she smirked, which irritated me for some reason. 'John had a crush on me for years. He was the first one that told me about vampires.'

'So what made you want to be one?'

'It's a very long list of reasons, Elena. All of which I'm sure you've thought about.'

'No.'

'That was your first lie. It's inevitable; you'll get old, Stefan won't.'

I glanced at Stefan; He seemed sad now.

'Forever doesn't last very long when you're human.'

This was not going the way I'd hoped, and Isobel wouldn't give me any answers.

'I'm not sorry, but I don't have what you want.'

I stood, but Isobel caught me and forced me back down.

'Sit down, and tell your boyfriend to walk away. I want the

invention, not you.'

Her words hurt more than her grip. 'I don't have it.'

'I know that, but Damon does, and you'll get it for me.'

I shook my head. 'He's not going to give it to me.'

'Then the blood will be on your hands.'

She stood and left me.

'It was nice meeting you, Elena.'

I burst into tears as Stefan put his arm around me.

Isobel didn't want to me; she just wanted the Gilbert device.

I've been thinking about her since I learned I was adopted.

Who she was, what was she like, what kind of mom she would have been, everything.

She didn't even care about me.

Bella didn't come to school the next day; after calling her, I decided to go over there.

I raced from my room; someone was knocking on the door.

I hoped it was Bella.

She was being super selfish about this, not sharing the information she gathered.

Maybe she finally decided to get off her high horse.

I opened the door and saw Bonnie standing there; it was good to see her again.

'Hi.'

'Hey. I couldn't sleep last night. You were upset about something, and I just walked away. It's not me. That can't be us. You're my friend, Elena.' She held my hands. 'If you need me, I'm here for you, and I'm sorry I couldn't show you that yesterday.'

'I met my birth mother.'

'Oh. Was it...Are you okay?'

I burst into tears and shook my head; Bonnie hugged me.

It felt good to have Bonnie back.

Thank goodness for the Founders Day parade to take my mind off this.

As we got set up for the parade, Bonnie said she had something to show me.

We met up in an empty class.

'Hey! Thanks for meeting me. I wanted you to see this.'

'Is that Emily's spell book?'

'I've been going through it since Grams died. Check this out.'

Bonnie showed me the book. 'That's the vampire compass.'

She nodded. 'Yeah, according to Emily, Johnathan Gilbert never succeeded in inventing anything. Emily secretly spelled them all with magic. Compass, rings, and the mystery device you told me about.'

She showed me a page from the book the device is designed.

'Yeah, that's it. Well, a part of it. Damon only has one piece.'

'Emily pledged her allegiance to Katherine, but she couldn't stand by and watch innocent people get slaughtered. This was the only way she could think of to help. To let Johnathan Gilbert believe that he'd invented these devices.'

'Does it say what it does?'

'Are you sure this is what Isobel wants?' she asked as she read the page.

'Yeah, I'm sure. Why?'

'Elena, this is a weapon against vampires.'

Why the hell does Isobel want a device that can kill her?

I went back outside to help with the float and find Stefan when I heard, 'Elena!'

I turned to see Jeremy approaching me.

'Hey, have you seen Stefan? I need to find him.'

'No, not lately. Listen, do you have a second?'

'Yeah. What's up? What's going on?'

'Well, it's Anna.'

Anna?

The vampire, Anna?

'I've left her all these messages, and she hasn't gotten back to me, not even a text.'

'Anna? I didn't know that you guys were still friends.'

'We're more than friends. Look, something could be seriously wrong, and if you know anything, you've got to tell me.'

'I haven't talked to her, Jer.'

Jeremy scoffed. 'Are you lying to me right now?'

His sharpness took me by surprise. 'Why do you say that?'

'Because that's what you do. Lying. You lie about everything. I know what Anna is, and I know that you know. So tell me, do you have any idea where she is?'

When did he find out?

Did Bella tell him?

'No, but Jer...Jeremy, wait! Jeremy!'

I turned around, and Isobel was standing behind me.

'Isobel. What are you doing here?'

'I'm your mother, Elena. I want to be more involved in your life.'

'I don't want you in my life.'

'I understand that. You already have many people you care about, but I've been studying. Let's see if I got this right.'

She looked at Bonnie talking to someone. 'There is the witchy best friend, Bonnie. I am going to stay away from that one.'

She turned to Jeremy, stomping away. 'Oh...sad little brother Jeremy.'

She watched Caroline. 'And there's Caroline...obnoxious Caroline. I got all of my info from her, by the way. She had no idea who I was, and she wouldn't stop yapping. Oh...'

She looked at Matt. 'And there's Matt, friend, ex, Yappy's future ex. Lots of connections there.'

'Matt is not involved in this.'

'He's involved with you, isn't he?'

'Look, you shouldn't be here. You need to leave.'

'No, I have some friends here too. Look, you see that man over here, standing next to Matt by the Float? His name is Frank, he's very handsome and also quite handy, and he noticed that the axles are a little rusty, which is very dangerous. So, all you have to do is apply some pressure and...'

'No!'

That Frank guy jumped on the trailer above Matt, crushing his arm. I tried to run for him, but Isobel grabbed me.

'Get this trailer! Come on, guys, help me!' Matt screamed.

Tyler rushed to help him with some friends, and they tried to remove the trailer. But they weren't strong enough; Stefan arrived to help lift them. They release the trailer, and Matt gets free; Caroline rushes to see him.

'Caroline, call an ambulance.' Stefan ordered.

'Why are you doing this?'

'I'm showing you how easy it is to hurt the people you care about.'

'And you're doing this just because of Johnathan Gilbert's invention?'

'Hand it over, and it'll stop.'

'I told you Damon will not give it to me.'

'I think that you underestimate how much Damon cares about you.'

'He'll kill you before he gives it up.'

'Is that before or after I kill your brother Jeremy?'

I turned to catch sight of Jeremy; he had disappeared.

'Jeremy? Jeremy?!' I looked everywhere and saw that Isobel was gone, too.

She wanted to meet in the town square; I waited for Isobel.

'Where is the device?' her voice behind me made me jump.

'Where is my brother?'

'This isn't a negotiation. Where is the invention?'

'Where is my brother?'

'Do you really think that I came alone?'

I heard footsteps behind me, and I turned to see a man and a woman walking up.

I guess I really am your daughter.

'Did you really think that I came alone?'

Damon and Stefan arrive behind her; she looks at them.

'For god sake, call home.'

'What?'

'Call home and ask to speak to your brother Jeremy.'

I did as she instructed.

'Hello?' Jeremy's voice answered.

'Jeremy, are you okay?'

'I'm fine, Uncle John hit his head. It was an accident.'

'We're all laughing.' I heard Jenna call out.

'But yeah, I'm okay.'

'I'll be home soon, alright?'

'Yeah.' I turned to her. 'You were never going to hurt him.'

She only kidnapped him, but she didn't hurt him.

Was it because of me?

'No, I was going to kill him. Don't look for any redeeming qualities in me. I don't have any.'

'But you took a risk with Damon. How did you know that he would give it to me?'

'Because he's in love with you.'

Damon looked at Stefan; he looked uncomfortable who seemed upset. I gave the device to Isobel.

'Thank you.'

'For what?'

'For being such a monumental disappointment. It keeps the memory of my birth mother perfectly intact.'

'Goodbye, Elena. As long as you have a Salvatore on each arm, you're doomed. Katherine was smart; she got out, but we all know you're not Katherine.'

After I got home, I argued with Jeremy about Anna. He read my journal, so he knows about Vicky's death and Damon compelling him to forget.

I decided to text Bella to see if she'd stop being selfish and talk to me.

No answer.

I decided to march over there and give her a piece of my mind.

I was all set to demand that she talk to me when her grandmother opened the front door before I could knock.

'Hi, ma'am.' I cleared my throat. 'Is Bella home?'

'You mean she's not with Jeremy?'

'N-no?'

'What about Caroline?'

'No, Mrs Higginbotham, could I look in Bella's room? I think I left something-'

'Bella never invited you upstairs.'

'Jeremy-'

'Always stays downstairs. What do you really want?'

'Bella has pictures of my uncle-'

'Doesn't your uncle have these same pictures?'

'I don't want to talk to him-'

'And how is that Bella's problem?'

'I think your son was my father.'

The old woman laughed at me. 'My son is not your father.'

'I still need-'

'My granddaughter is missing, and you want to talk about you? You Gilberts, truly have a gift.'

'Ma'am-'

'Why don't you ask John? Excuse me; I have to find my

granddaughter.'